BIZ BUZZ: Recto as Finance chief?

Is there a mini-Cabinet reshuffling coming soon?

We hear that there may be upcoming changes, especially in the economic team of President Marcos.

The buzz is that Rep. Ralph Recto, a House Deputy Speaker and formerly a three-term Senator, may soon be named as new finance secretary, replacing Sec. Benjamin Diokno.

The suspension of the Maharlika Investment Fund implementing rules will give leeway for a successor to tweak the framework.

But is Recto cut out for fiscal policymaking? Let’s look at his resumé.

He earned master’s degree units in public administration from the University of the Philippines and took up a leadership course at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

He is a candidate for a Master’s degree in strategic business economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce major in Business Management from De La Salle University.

If and when Recto takes over, we hear that Diokno isn’t about to hibernate. Remember that there’s still one slot left unfilled in the Monetary Board, the highest policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

From what we hear, that sixth slot may be reserved for Diokno, although some are hoping that fellow economist Dante Canlas will get it instead.

—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla